Our prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,105B1, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, describes a novel electrosurgical instrument, in particular a bipolar electrosurgical instrument, that is configured for use in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and other electrosurgical procedures for, for example, in-body orthopedic treatments. The instrument is constructed with a single rigid end as a bipolar electrode comprising spaced rounded electrodes separated by an electrically-insulated strip. When energized, a bipolar discharge is generated mainly between the bare edges of the electrode segments adjoining the electrically-insulated strip.
In our copending application Ser. No. 11/709,672, filed Feb. 23, 2007, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, we describe an electrode configuration and procedure for use for topical application to the tissue surface or skin of a patient for the non-ablative treatment of periorbital rhytides and midface laxity or in general removal of wrinkles or other cosmetic skin tightening procedures to improve the appearance of skin tissue.
In this radio-frequency (RF) non-ablative tissue surface treatment, it is desirable to raise the tissue temperature to about 55-65° C. to affect underlying skin collagen to tighten the surface tissue, being careful to avoid overheating the skin tissue possibly causing burns and residual scarring. To achieve this result, this prior application describes the use of specially configured electrodes to provide a reasonably uniform electric field distribution at the skin surface, pre-applying to the skin a thermal gel, a known thermally and electrically-conductive material, to help cool the surface, using low RF power, relying on the natural cooling provided by a highly conductive electrode material, and continuously manually moving the activated electrode while in contact with the skin.